Estimated Full Value of Real Estate in Cook County Increases for Second Year in a Row

August 18, 2016

The full market value of real estate in Cook County was approximately $499.1 billion in tax assessment year 2014 according to an annual estimate released today by the Civic Federation. The 2014 total value estimate represents an increase of $39.3 billion, or 8.5%, from the 2013 estimated full value. Tax year 2014 is the most recent year for which data are available. The 2014 estimates represent the second time since 2006 that real estate values in Cook County increased. The full report including ten-year trend data is available here.

“After six straight years of decline in the estimated full value of property in Cook County, two consecutive years of recovery are a hopeful sign that the tax base is recovering,” said Civic Federation President Laurence Msall. Prior to 2007, the estimated full value of real estate in the City of Chicago and suburbs grew every year going back to at least 1995.

In addition to Cook County as a whole, the report estimates the full market value of real estate in the City of Chicago, northwest Cook County suburbs and southwest Cook County suburbs. The estimated full market value of real estate in the City of Chicago increased by 8.0% in tax assessment year 2014 while the northwest and southwest suburbs experienced increases of 9.9% and 7.7%, respectively.

The estimated full value of residential property in the City of Chicago increased by 1.7% between 2005 and 2014. This was the only major class of property to see overall growth during the ten-year period. Between 2005 and 2014 the estimated full value of all classes of property in Cook County as a whole declined by 14.1%. As shown in the chart below, estimated full value increased by 14.6% between 2005 and 2006 to a high of $666.2 billion before bottoming out at $414.4 billion in 2012, a decline of 37.8%, and then rising in 2014 to $499.1 billion.

The full market value estimates in this report are based on two data sources: the total assessed value of property as reported by the Cook County Assessor’s Office and the median level of assessment reported by the Illinois Department of Revenue. The Illinois Department of Revenue collects data on property sales and calculates the ratio of assessed values to sales values. That data is used to compute the mean assessment-to-sales ratio, or the median level of assessment.

The Civic Federation estimates the full value of property by dividing the median level of assessment into the total assessed value of each class of property in Cook County. For those classes for which the Department of Revenue does not calculate a median level of assessment, the level set by County ordinance is used.